In the End
by JGoddess
Summary: Like blossoms into love. Hatred fights its destiny. Two will become one, a symbol of hope in the turmoil that will shred their world to peices. Good unites to battle evil. No one can be trusted. No one. (LilyJames and The First War)
1. Back Home

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for any unfamiliar characters and this plot, which was also somewhat derived from what the brilliant J.K. Rowling gave me to work with. No copyright infringement intended.  
  
That having been said, I sincerely hope you enjoy this story. It starts in Lily and the Marauder's seventh year. You will get to hang out Lily and her friends, the Marauders, Frank Longbottom and Alice, and many other characters from way back then. I have meshed the real world into the whole Gang's little Hogwarts world (you'll have to read and see). The story will continue on past their graduation (everyone's) and into the world, where they will join the forces of Good to battle Voldemort in The First War. This is romance, action, comedy, drama, and everything else- in no particular order.  
  
Thanks for reading. -JGoddess  
  
Chapter 1: The Usual  
  
"Ahhh, fellas, do you smell that? That smell - so distinct, so sweet, so - mesmerizing. I love it. Don't you love it?" inquired James Potter, almost rhetorically, as he and his friends strolled down the great halls of Hogwarts.  
  
After slight hesitation and a few perplexed looks, Peter Petigrew said slowly "Ah, James, hate to ask this but, what are you talking about?"  
  
James closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them.  
  
He sighed. "Wormtail, you are an absolute failure." Then he looked quickly at his other best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Sirius cocked a dark, shapely eyebrow inquisitively, while Remus just stared at him.  
  
"Come on men! I'm talking about..girls." He exhaled the last word slowly.  
  
"But girls don't smell, James." James ignored Peter.  
  
"Haha, I knew what you were talking about, mate. I knew all along. I-"  
  
"No, you didn't, Padfoot," James said, cutting off Sirius quickly.  
  
"Er, right."  
  
"Wormtail, let me enlighten you. Girls do smell. They smell good. They smell beautiful. Hell, they are beautiful," James began. Just then a very pretty blond haired girl from Ravenclaw walked by flanked by two less- radiant girls.  
  
"Why hello there, Miss Wellings, did I mention that you look quite magnificent today?" James said, flashing her a brilliant, toothy grin. The girls erupted into giggles, with the blond haired girl blushing profusely. She managed to thrust out a "hello" and then practically sprinted off down the hall madly with her friends.  
  
After watching them for a few seconds, Sirius commented matter-of-factly, "Now that is one fine specimen."  
  
"Understatement," Remus said instantly, "Name's Alicia if I recall correctly.correct?"  
  
"Take five points, Mr. Lupin. I hope you all got a good whiff of that, because that is as good as it gets, my friends. Note the affect that we, er, I had on her, " James said a bit idly.  
  
Sirius punched him in the arm, "Aw, come on, Prongs, we all know that I'm the best looking one in this group." They tussled with each other as only great friends do, both managing to mess up the other's hair completely.  
  
"Ah yes, mission accomplished," they both said  
  
simultaneously.  
  
"Gah! My hair!" cried Sirius as James said joyfully, "Yes, I love  
  
when it's messy!"  
  
"Actually, James, you look like you've been through a windstorm. Sirius, you're hair is perfectly fine," interjected Remus. James's hair truly did look like he had been through some type of heavily winded storm, as masses of it stood up in every direction all over his head. Sirius's dark hair had just magically fallen back into place with a few chunks hanging over his forehead into his eyes, causing Peter to stare at it in awe as he rubbed a hand over his short, dull, mousy brown hair.  
  
They had been wandering the halls for about half an hour, mostly checking out any new developments in the girl department. As they headed back to the Gryffindor common room, they began to chat excitedly.  
  
"Wow, did you see the legs on Mariana Sanders!" Sirius whistled.  
  
"And Rebecca Crawling! She really filled out this year."  
  
"I know, man, this year is going to be amazing!"  
  
James subconsciously ran a hand through his messy, jet black hair. "Our last year, mates, we better make the very best of it." He ran a finger rather affectionately along the banister of the stairwell as they descended.  
  
The corners of Sirius's mouth twitched upwards, "Oy, James, now what exactly does that mean?" Remus grinned.  
  
"Why, that I will get Evans, of course," he stated rather pompously. The laughter following this comment echoed far down the empty hallway, scaring the wits out of a small group of first-years just around the corner who then promptly ran off to tell their friends that the castle was haunted.   
  
Lily Evans stretched out sideways in the comfy armchair in front of a roaring fire in the common room. Her thick red locks spilled over the edge of the chair sparkling with warm golden highlights from the flames of the fire. Tiny splotches of pink appeared on her cheeks and matched the color of her small, soft lips. She smiled, fixing her luminous, emerald eyes on her friends who were sprawled out around her. Alice, a petite brunette, had just handed a stack of pictures to pretty fair-haired Wilona, who laughed at the top picture. Lily continued smiling dreamily, glad to be back home where she belonged, Hogwarts. Hogwarts. The embodiment of the world that changed her life. She still couldn't believe it. Only six years ago, she sat in her room, living her boring Muggle life with her boring Muggle family in a boring Muggle world. And now here she was, a witch, and one of the best in her class, at that.  
  
"Our last year," she said sadly, making Alice and Wilona look up from their pictures and start screeching.  
  
"Oh Merlin! Lily, we know! We know! Why'd you have to remind us! You're going to make me cry again," said Alice, looking miserably at Lily, tears in the corners of her eyes.  
  
"Aw, Alice, come on. It's been fun though, hasn't it? Everything, I mean. Just everything," said Wilona, running her hand through Alice's hair comfortingly. "Just think, if we hadn't been rammed onto the same boat with each other our first year, we might not be such great friends." Alice giggled and Lily's smiled widened at the memory.  
  
"Let's make this year perfect. Let's make it our best year ever," Alice said determinedly.  
  
"Yeah, we should, shouldn't we?" murmured Lily softly, watching the dancing fire in front of her.  
  
"What is with you today, Lily? You've been sitting in that chair for ages, just lying there with a dreamy look on your face." Lily snapped back to reality.  
  
"I don't know, Alice, I was just thinking about stuff. Nothing important. I'm just trying to enjoy my time before classes start."  
  
Alice seemed to think that an acceptable explanation, though it was the truth.  
  
"Oh, you guys!" gushed Wilona a bit loudly. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" She seemed about ready to faint. "You know who I saw this morning? You know who I saw?" She began to hop up and down and wave her arms.  
  
"Gee, Wilona, do some back flips why don't you? Some cartwheels, maybe you can get a broom and loop-de-loop outside for a bit. Either that or slow down," said Alice in a matter of four seconds.  
  
"You are one to talk, Alice. And obviously Wilona is talking about Sirius Black; he's all she ever talks about, you should know that by now," said Lily, rolling her eyes and straightening up in her chair. She glanced around the common room, which was beginning to empty as people wandered upstairs to bed early because of classes tomorrow. Wilona looked disappointed at their lack of enthusiasm, and tried to start a different conversation with the obvious intention of directing it back to Sirius.  
  
"Maybe we should just go to-" began Lily, but she drifted off when she saw the Portrait hole swing open wildly and a very dark, very messy head poke in.  
  
Realization dawned on her, as only one head in the whole house could have hair like that. "Oh no, no, no, get me out of here, come on, let's go to bed. Now. Please. Please," Lily pleaded, her eyes hopelessly darting back and forth between her friends and the four boys who just entered the common room. She grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her towards the stairs. Wilona, however, stood rooted on the spot, her mouth slightly open.  
  
"It's him," she said breathlessly, staring at Sirius.  
  
"Oh for GOD's sake, Wilona. Suck it up!" snarled Lily uncharacteristically.  
  
They had just about reached the stairs when she heard an all too familiar overly confident sounding voice say, "Well, hello there, Evans. In a hurry to get somewhere, are we?"  
  
When she didn't turn around, the voice continued, "Might we be able to assist you fine ladies up to your dormitory?" Wilona let out a small squeal.  
  
Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she slowly turned around; her friends followed suit. James Potter stood in front of her, dark messy hair and all, while next to him stood Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. A small head poked out from behind James, and she identified it as Peter Pettigrew's head. She heard Wilona suck in her breath at the sight of Sirius in all his glory and perfection.  
  
"Hello, James," she said simply and casually, not wanting him to have the satisfaction of seeing her angry. She realized her niceness was a large mistake, as James's eyes lit up joyfully at her friendliness.  
  
"Evans! Nice to see you've finally come around. Very nice. So, does that mean you'll go out with me?" he asked assertively, sure of the answer. Remus looked a little doubtful, but Sirius was just about ready to clap his friend on the back.  
  
Lily stared straight into James eyes and matched his confidence, calmly saying, "No thank you, I have much better things to do with my time," before she marched up the stairs in a swirl of red hair and black robes. 


	2. Casual Encounters

A/N: Well, here you go. Not much to say. Just thought I'd keep in touch.  
  
Chapter 2: Casual Encounters  
  
The sun shone brilliantly down through the windows of the great hall as Lily, Alice and Wilona entered for breakfast. They strolled over to the Gryffindor table, chatting and laughing merrily, despite the fact that today was the first day of classes.  
  
Lily stopped at their usual spot at the table, looking at the first years who were sitting there staring at them with huge liquidated eyes. Seeing how terrified they looked, Lily and her friends compassionately told them that they would sit somewhere else.  
  
Glancing down the table, Lily spied empty seats down towards the middle and dragged her friends along towards it. She stopped short, however, noticing that these empty seats happened to be right next to a few boys whom were the last people she wanted to sit next to this morning, or EVER for that matter.  
  
Wilona, on the other hand, couldn't have been more pleased. Before she knew it, Lily was whisked off and plopped down on the bench right next to Remus Lupin.  
  
"Good morning, Lily. Ready for classes?" Remus said, buttering a piece of toast slowly. "I would imagine you'd be excited, being best in the class and all."  
  
Even though Remus was probably the nicest of the Mauraders, Lily said good morning and then tuned out. She glanced at James and saw him grinning pointedly at her, his hair looking disheveled as always. She looked away and focused on Sirius, who was shoveling pastries and scones into his mouth very rapidly, pausing occasionally to down a gulp of pumpkin juice. Wilona sat next to him, staring in fascination at his eating antics. Though Sirius was good-looking, Lily had to admit that she found him revolting at the moment. She looked down at her own empty plate and realized she was not very hungry.  
  
"Lily, you have to eat," said Alice, putting some toast on her friend's plate.  
  
"Yeah, Lily, gotta keep your figure in shape and such, we wouldnt want anything bad happening to you, would we?" said James.  
  
Lily chose to ignore him and did not speak to anyone but Alice and Wilona the whole breakfast, though Wilona wasn't talking much herself. After a while, James gave up on trying to speak to her and resumed talking and whispering to his own friends until it was time for class.  
  
In the hallway on the way to Charms, Lily smiled to herself thinking about how she had 5 N.E.W.T. classes this year. While the thought may have made any other student cringe, Lily loved it. She shared all of her classes with Alice, but only one with Wilona (which was transfiguration).  
  
Lily went throughout her day listening attentively to each teacher from her seat in the front of each classroom, next to Alice of course.  
  
On their way to Advanced Potions, the last class of the day, Lily commented to Alice about how three of the Mauranders happened to be in all their advanced classes as well (Peter was in only andvanced transfiguration. Both girls found it very disturbing and perplexing and then convinced themselves that the boys must have cheated their way in, except maybe Remus, for he displayed much more intelligence than the other two.  
  
In the potions dungeon, they took their customary seats at the front and waited for the teacher to assign directions. The girls were thrilled when he told them they would be working in partners for the first potion, which was complex and required teamwork. Alice and Lily immediately looked at each other, but their grins faded when the teacher said he would be assigning partners, saying that they would need to get used to working with unfamiliar people, as they would surely be doing that somewhere down the line in their careers. Lily was fine so long as she was not paired with Potter.  
  
"And Lily you will be with James."  
  
So much for that.  
  
Of all the people in the whole entire classroom WHY did he have to pick Potter, Lily thought to herself. James, however, was beside himself and Lily caught Sirius giving him a little wink and a nod before he came walking over.  
  
"Well, what do you know, Evans, we're Potions partners!" he said, smiling brightly.  
  
"Right, now let's just not talk and get this potion done, ok?" Lily said commandingly and she began to read the directions on the board.  
  
"Aww, I thought be might be able to chat a bit, you know, break the ice a little. I'm an interesting man. There must be something we could talk about," he said, collecting ingredients and measuring them.  
  
Lily noticed that he did this almost effortlessly . He seemed to know exactly what he was doing, as he held up a vial and squeezed a few blue drops into it. Maybe he was smarter than she thought.  
  
"Fine, just one question, and then no more talking. How come your in Advanced potions? I mean, it's a hard class, not many people end up passing. Not many people want to take it in the first place.Not unless they want to be a potions teacher.or an Auror or something." she trailed off, quickly chopping up some roots.  
  
"Which is precisely what I want," stated James, eyeing her rapidly moving knife a little anxiously.  
  
Lily faltered and stopped chopping. "You.You want to be an auror?" she asked, extremely taken back.  
  
"That I do," he responded proudly while expertly measuring out some powdered batwing. "All I've ever wanted to be. Why do you think Remus, Sirius, and I are in all these advanced classes?"  
  
Lily stared at him disbelievingly and then looked down into her lap. "I've always wanted to be an Auror too," she began hesitantly, "I mean, ever since I first heard of them. I've read so many books about them and." she drifted off as she noticed James gazing at her keenly, his eyebrows slightly raised.  
  
She's actually talking to me as if I'm a human, James thought, quite pleased with himself.  
  
He actually looks like he's listening to what I'm saying, Lily thought disbelievingly, but then she began to fidget under his unwavering stare. She stared powerlessly into his sparkling light brown eyes, noticing they were flecked with bits of gold towards the center, with darker smudges around the edges.  
  
"You have hazel eyes?" she blurted out suddenly, a little shocked. They're so much more than hazel though, she thought, I can't believe I've never noticed them before.  
  
James rolled those eyes of his and said, "Uh, yeah, Evans, I've had them for about seventeen years now. Nice of you to finally notice."  
  
"Uh.oh, well.I always thought they were just brown," she stuttered, slightly surprised by his snappy answer. She narrowed her eyes and mentally scolded herself for stepping out of her iron shell and talking to him. She hated him, after all.  
  
James shrugged off her explanation and seemed to stare right into Lily's soul. "And YOUR eyes are green, Evans. Well, they're more like emerald... and forest green... and sometimes a light green all rolled into one, like a stained glass window. And when you're in the light, they sparkle like jewels. Or even when you smile."  
  
He paused and glanced at the chalkboard to check if they had the right amounts of ingredients. He seemed to not notice Lily gaping at him, or how she had almost poured an extra liter of bubotuber pus into the cauldron. She opened and closed her mouth slowly, digesting what she has just heard from the mouth of James Potter.  
  
But he wasn't finished. "It makes you so easy to read, Evans. You can tell anything about you by just looking into those eyes of yours." He smirked.  
  
Any change of heart that she might have had about James disappeared quicker than one could say "Chocolate Frogs," and the redhead's rage was ignited.  
  
"Easy to read? EASY to READ? JAMES POTTER, if you think you know ANYTHING about me, THINK again! WHO do you think you are?" She slammed a vial of smoking red liquid down so hard on the table that the bottom broke and red splashed everywhere.  
  
"OH MY GOD! Look what you made me do!" she shrieked, looking like a bloody mess, literally. Red liquid was splattered all over her flushed face and some began dripping down her neck.  
  
James was tiny bit shocked at the outburst, but recovered in a matter of seconds. "Eh, a little more red doesnt really make any difference, " he said eyeing her hair.  
  
Lily's eyes widened and her chest fluffed up twice its size. She seemed to grow a couple inches and the red liquid on her facing began to boil and steam, creating quite an interesting effect. Students began backing away from her with whispers of "Oh Merlin, she's steaming! Get away from her!"  
  
James seemed nonplussed though, as he stood there with his eyebrows raised and a curious expression on his face.  
  
"You disgust me," Lily whispered simply, before she was whisked away by the potions teacher and sent up to the hospital wing because of the ugly red burns on her skin.  
  
On her way out the door, she heard Sirius say to James loudly, "Yep, Jamesie, you really got THIS one in the bag!"  
  
(*I'm not sure how to put extra spaces between things; If I did, there'd be one here. Can anyone tell me? Pressing the space bar doesn't work when you upload docs.)  
  
"Oh, Wilona..." Lily moaned, her face pressed into a pillow. "It was horrible, everyone was staring at me and then that stupid red stuff started to steam...and he was just standing there, all conceited and stupidlike...I hate him so much!" she said, rolling onto her side. She lay curled up on her bed in her nightgown, tears trickling down her face.  
  
"Oh Merlin! I wish I was there! I would've hexed him for you!" cried Wilona indignantly.  
  
"Yeah but after you left, Lily, Professor took 10 points from Gryffindor for disrupting the class and then everyone was mad at him," Alice stated, in hopes of comforting her friend.  
  
Lily found a little satisfaction in the thought that people had been annoyed with James. It was about time they realized how arrogant he really was.  
  
"He thinks he's so great, hexing everyone that annoys him, getting all the popular girls, being super Quidditch seeker and all. I can't stand him! And why... WHY is he after ME? I mean, of all the people in this whole school, he has to pick Lily Evans," exclaimed Lily, riled up at the thought of James. Anger boiled inside her just like the red liquid boiled on her face earlier that day. But this is stupid, she thought to herself. Why am I getting all worked up over James Potter? Like I told him, I have way better things to do with my time.  
  
Lily shook her head and sat up on her bed. She wiped the useless tears off her face with the sleeve of her nightgown and sighed. Alice and Wilona exchanged looks with each other, slightly surprised by her sudden mood change, as it usually took Lily quite a while to calm down if her rage was ignited.  
  
Lily saw the exchange and said quietly, "He's not worth it." They nodded in agreement.  
  
All three sat in silence for a few minutes, until Wilona started up timidly, "Um well, Lily, even though you might not like James, there ARE other people...." She looked at Lily almost pleadingly.  
  
Alice backed her up slowly, as if they had both rehearsed this conversation.  
  
"She's right... You work way too much, Lily, you don't have fun like you really should. I mean, yes you have us, but that's not enough sometimes...When was the last time you went on a date?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.  
  
"Ummm, Billy Dunbar...a couple years ago maybe.." said Lily meekly. She could not believe this conversation was happening.  
  
"Right, so...just find someone," said Wilona, looking at her hopefully. Lily noticed that Alice had the same look on her face, though with a little bit of fear (probably because she was afraid of setting Lily off).  
  
"We have that graduation ball thing, right? I know you don't like the idea of it, but it'll be loads of fun, WE'LL be there, don't forget. Of course, I'll be there with Sirius but.."  
  
"It's our last year, Lily... We have to make the best of it, remember?" said Alice cutting off Wilona quickly.  
  
Lily sighed again. "Okay. I'll try," she said without looking at either of them. She was too tired to think, let alone argue. Without another word, she flopped down on her bed and closed out her friends' faces with the bed curtains. She squeezed under her blankets and drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep.  
  
Meanwhile, at about the same time the girls had their little conversation, the 7th year boy's dormitory was also awake, active, and completely oblivious, as usual.  
  
James Potter pounded on the bathroom door with his fists and began yelling, "HOLY MERLIN, SIRIUS, YOU'VE BEEN IN THERE FOR TWO HOURS ALREADY! THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM WHO REALLY NEED TO PEE!" Remus, Peter, and Frank Longbottom all stood squirming in a line behind James.  
  
"Okay! Okay! I'm just about to get out," called Sirius, unconcerned for the welfare of his roommates.  
  
The bathroom door swung open unexpectedly, knocking over James who accidentally started a domino affect as Remus, Peter, and Frank all fell over on account of their inability to move their legs. They scrabbled about on the floor wildly as hot, white, steam billowed out of the bathroom, condensating on their skin and making them sweat profusively.  
  
"Ahh! I'm blind, I'm blind!" cried Peter, grabbing James's left leg and hanging on for dear life. James kicked him in the stomach and accidently pulled Frank's boxers down in a wild attempt to stand up.  
  
"Need. To. Pee."grimaced Remus, slowly making his way to where the steam was coming from but knocking into Sirius, who had just stepped out of the bathroom. He was wearing his green plaid boxers and rubbing a purple towel on his head.  
  
"Well, there ya go. It's-" he began but stopped abruptly as his eyes fell upon the tangled, sweaty boys on the ground before him, all of whom, except for Frank who had been de-clothed, were in their boxers since it was bedtime. His mouth dropped open and he stopped drying his hair.  
  
"You made me get out of the bathroom to watch you guys do THIS? You've GOT to be kidding me!" He then watched on in total awe as all four boys ignored him and grappled a bit more on the floor until Remus broke free with a triumphant look on his face and sprinted into the bathroom, slamming the door in their faces. James, Peter, and Frank (after pulling up his pants) all groaned and curled up into fetal position.  
  
"What the...? Actually, I'm not even going to ask. I'm just going to walk over to my bed and sit down. Yes, that's what I'm going to do," said Sirius vacantly as he resumed rubbing his head with his purple towel. 


	3. An Unknown Awakening

Chapter 3: An Unknown Awakening  
  
Lily woke up just as the sun peeped out over the Forbidden Forest, partially hidden in the gray mist rising above the treetops. A few delicate rays graced the girl's dormitory with their presence, creating soft yellow circles of light on Lily's bed curtains. She smiled, seeing that everyone else was asleep; she loved being alone in the morning. There was something so soothing about it; maybe it was the thought of all the other Hogwarts inhabitants sleeping soundly in their beds, lost in the blissful land of dreams.  
  
She got out of bed quietly and slipped a cloak over her nightgown; she would change later. She glided gracefully across the room and out the door, giving her sleeping friends' beds one last glance.  
  
The common room was chilly and empty. Chairs looked out of place without occupants, as well as tables that were completely clean. Lily tottered over to a chair by the window and pulled her knees up to her chin, covering her cold toes with the bottom of her cloak. She stared outside at the sky, watching the colors change from the golden hues of the sun to the pale blue sky of day. She was just thinking of how beautiful a painting it would make when she heard a slight shuffle behind her.  
  
Lily snapped her head around towards the sound and was extremely surprised when she saw Remus Lupin looking at her with a terrified expression on his face.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked accusingly, narrowing her eyes at him. She pulled her cloak closer to her body.  
  
"N-nothing..." He said with the same wide-eyed expression. "I didn't think anyone would be here, no ones ever here this early in the morning. I was hoping you wouldn't hear me," he continued, looking flustered.  
  
Lily noticed that he looked a little pale; his eyes were red and there were gray bags under them. He looked very worn out as he stood there staring at her and shivering.  
  
"Are you alright? You don't look too good, Remus," she said, easing up a bit.  
  
"Y-Yes I'm fine. Thanks, Lily. I was just on my way out..." he replied quickly, once again looking terrified. He hurried across the room, opened the portrait hole, and stepped out before she could react and ask him where he was going.  
  
It was her duty as Head Girl to make sure no one prowled the halls too early in the morning. No one ever did; who would want to cut out on valuable sleeping time? The last thing she needed was the Marauders roaming around and her getting in trouble for it. But wait, it wasn't the Marauders, it was just Remus. Lily was befuddled as to what he would be doing, especially without his friends. She couldn't help but wonder why calm, cool, collected Remus looked so flustered just a few minutes ago. Terrified, actually. She wondered if Sirius and James knew.  
  
James. Anger unfurled inside her like the beautiful hues of the sunrise. She had never felt such an intense hatred for anyone before. He truly disgusted her. She wondered how he could walk around school and not throw up at the sight of himself. Maybe not the physical aspect of him, but everything else. He had no self-respect, he had no true valor. He was so fake, living only for others, for popularity, for girls, and for tormenting those weaker than himself. But in truth, he was the weakest one of all. He was not worthy of being an Auror. She would die before he became an Auror.  
  
Lily was fuming as these thoughts flowed through her. He would never get to her. She would never give him the satisfaction of it. This was one thing she was sure of.  
  
She got up from her chair and straightened out her cloak. The sky was now light blue and she could see shadows of clouds forming in the distance. She quickly made her way across the common room and had almost reached the stairs when she heard someone stumbling down the boys' staircase.  
  
"Evans?"  
  
She recognized the voice immediately. Without turning to look at him, she mustered up the sweetest sounding voice that she possible could and said, "Shove it, Potter," and then skipped up the stairs smiling to herself. This would be a good day.  
  
-  
  
"So get this, Sirius. I was going to Dumbledore's office in the morning, just to remind him about you-know-what because he said he was really busy and might forget, you know? But anyways, it was some ungodly hour of like 5 or 6, and I go into the common room, right... And guess who I see sitting there in a chair in her pretty little nightgown looking out the window?" Sirius gave Remus a blank look before comprehension dawned on his face.  
  
"Oh! Oh man, Moony! Rosmerta? I knew it! So what'd ya do, huh?" he guffawed as he clapped Remus on the back, causing him to choke on his toast. Peter was smiling expectantly, like a child waiting for a bedtime story.  
  
After chugging down come orange juice, Remus gave Sirius an extremely dirty look and then rolled his eyes. He tilted his head to the side and stated blandly, "Sirius, how dense can you be? I wasn't talking about the Rosmerta girl. I was talking about Lily." Neither Sirius nor Peter seemed to have any type of reaction to his news. He shook his head and threw his hands up in the air. "Why the heck am I telling you this? Where's James? Why's he still in his room? Merlin, is he STILL sleeping?" He twisted his neck and scanned the Great Hall for his friend. Sirius resumed his usual breakfast routine of shoving food into his face.  
  
After failing to spot James, Remus turned back around and stared at a bit of jelly on Sirius's chin and said, "You are the most disgusting human I have ever seen. I think I need to throw up." He did indeed look very pale, almost a sea-greenish. He started taking deep breaths.  
  
"Here, Remus, have a donut," said Peter sincerely, his outstretched hand holding a powdery looking lump of dough. "I think it might be strawberry."  
  
Remus closed his eyes and tried to close off all of his senses as a wave of pain suddenly coursed throughout his body. He did not want to hear the rumbling morning chatter of excited students. He did not want to smell the revolting donut that Peter was holding. He did not want see Sirius wallowing in his food like a disgusting pig. His stomach churned. And most of all, he did not want to feel the sharp, jabbing pains that were periodically piercing into his spine, or the achiness that inhabited every one of his joints and made him feel like a feeble old man. His head was going to explode any minute now. He waited for the moment, gripping the edge of the table tightly. It had never been this bad before.  
  
"Moony? Moony? Earth to Moony." Someone was poking him in his side.  
  
"STOP IT!" he barked, sounding a little more loud and ferocious than he wanted to. Several students nearby paused their eating and stared at him with curiosity. Sirius had a fork halfway up to his open mouth, and Peter had just taken a bite out of the donut. He looked for his attacker and discovered James standing next to him, frozen in mid-poke.  
  
Remus sighed as the wave of pain slowly passed. "Sorry, James. It's just that time of the month, you know," he explained quietly so no one else could hear. Sirius immediately broke the awkward tension and erupted in laughter, spraying bits and pieces of food all over the table. Several girls nearby looked as if they were trying to decide whether to be disgusted by this display, or to gather up the bits of food and take them up to their Sirius-shrines upstairs.  
  
James slowly cracked a smile and sat down. He didn't say anything as he piled food onto his plate. He looked as if he had a little secret that he had no intention of sharing. Sirius and Remus noticed this, but did not say anything.  
  
In an attempt to start a conversation to cover up the embarrassing incident, Remus began telling James about his Lily sighting. However, he was interrupted by very loud, high-pitched laughter and lively giggles being emitted from the direction of the entrance to the Great Hall.  
  
They all looked up.  
  
"Ah, it's the goddess herself," Sirius said, smirking.  
  
-  
  
Lily, Wilona, and Alice waltzed into the Great Hall, all three laughing and giggling loudly at an early- morning mishap in the bathroom. Lily tucked her vibrant, flowing hair behind her ears and dabbed her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. Her face was flushed and fresh, with natural beauty shining through the laughter. She smiled lazily and contently when the humor died down a bit and her friends sat down at the Gryffindor table to eat.  
  
"Ahhh," Alice sighed. The three girls smiled at each other. Neither of them had noticed that their loud arrival had caught the attention of half the school, so began eating and talking as if nothing had just happened. It was only a matter of minutes before they burst into giggles again when Wilona, who had just made eye contact with Sirius, tried to take a sexy swig of pumpkin juice but missed her mouth by a couple of inches and ended up pouring the juice down her face. Lily and Alice hunched over onto the table in fits of laughter, while an incredibly embarrassed Wilona ran to the girl's bathroom.  
  
"Oh God, oh god." Lily repeated as she gasped for air. Both girls were now very pink and began to notice the curious stares of students surrounding them. Lily coughed. Her face turned a shade darker.  
  
"Um. So anyways..." she began, attempting to make the rest of breakfast as normal as possible. She glanced around and behind her. Everyone was still staring.  
  
"Alice! Alice, is there something on my face?" Lily asked anxiously. A wide- eyed Alice shook her head quickly. Lily cowered down in her seat and reached for a blueberry muffin. Slowly, people stopped whispering and turned back to their own conversations.  
  
After a few seconds of silence and muffin chewing, Alice let out a soft giggle.  
  
Lily couldn't help but smile, and tried her very hardest not to laugh.  
  
Further down the Gryffindor table, the Marauders had watched the entrance of the three girls, and the exit of Wilona. They all watched keenly as Lily and Alice began emitting the loudest laughing they had ever heard. They noticed that Lily looked like a cherry. With red hair. James thought she looked positively beautiful.  
  
"Look at that girl, Prongs, totally enjoying herself, WITHOUT you," Sirius commented. Remus turned to see James's reaction. Surprisingly, he sat quietly staring at Lily intently. But only for a few seconds. He then cracked a huge grin and chuckled.  
  
"But if only she knew what I had to offer, I mean, clearly she is missing out on the best thing that isn't happening to her," he paused, "Did that make sense?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.  
  
"Sorta..." said Remus. He looked back at Lily. She was eating a muffin and talking to Alice. Her face was still slightly pink, and she was engulfed in an aura of energy and happiness. Remus couldn't help but smile. James saw him.  
  
"WHAT! That's MY girl, you're smiling at there, Moony! Don't you even think about it!" he said half jokingly, half serious.  
  
"She does look really pretty though" Sirius said, grinning at James.  
  
James sputtered. "Wha- What? Stop it! I know she's pretty. What are you playing at?" He looked about wildly from friend to friend.  
  
Remus and Sirius just shook their heads, trying to contain their laughter. It was a fun little game they played sometimes. Getting James riled up was easy, not to mention amusing.  
  
Peter was looking down towards the girls.  
  
"Hey look! Haha, looks like ol' Ted's about to pull a move on her. Whaddya think about that?" Peter said, giggling girlishly afterwards.  
  
James whipped his head around towards Lily. A tall, blond-haired boy was standing next to her, his back facing James.  
  
"He wouldn't..." James said threateningly. "But Evans is smart, she wouldn't fall for a guy like that..."  
  
Just then, Lily made some motions with her hands and the boy sat down next to her. James's mouth dropped open in awe, and his eyes widened. He watched on as Lily began chatting with the boy. In a few seconds she began to blush and looked down into her lap.  
  
"He's making her blush! He's saying inappropriate things to her! I'll kill him! I'll kill him if he lays a hand on her," James burst out. He was about to get up when Lily lifted her head. She was smiling. She said a few words and then nodded quickly, still blushing.  
  
"What are they saying? What are they talking about?" James continued, still shocked. He looked at his friends. Remus and Sirius were looking at Lily with their eyes slightly wide as well. Turning back to James, they both shrugged.  
  
"Peter!" James said abruptly. "Turn into a rat and go listen. Now!" He kept snapping his head back and forth from his friends to Lily, his face getting more angry with each glance at her. His fist clenched  
  
"James, we're in the middle of the Great Hall. Be quiet," Remus said. Then his face contorted and he closed his eyes, grimacing.  
  
Sirius continued. "Don't get all worked up about it. She hates your guts, man." He nodded knowledgably. "Anyway, its almost time for classes, let's go." He began to gather up his books.  
  
James looked around the Great Hall and noticed that it was a little emptier and students were beginning to get up and head out. Most of the teachers were already gone. He saw Dumbledore sitting alone, reading a book and eating what looked like a treacle tart. He glanced up and saw James looking at him. He winked.  
  
"Hey, did Dumbledore just wink at you?" Peter asked in wonder. He stood up and stared pointedly at Dumbledore, trying to get a wink for himself.  
  
James stood up and shoved Peter aside. "She does not hate me. I mean really, who could possible hate me? She just doesn't know me. Watch, I'll talk to her, you'll see. She was just overreacting in Potions class." He did not sound very confident.  
  
"Right.." Sirius said.  
  
James grabbed his bag and made his way towards Lily, who was already leaving the Great Hall with the boy named Ted. Alice was no where to be seen.  
  
"Hey Evans! Evans!" he called.  
  
She turned around and he flashed her a big grin. "Hey Evans, how's it going?" he asked when he caught up to her. He shot Ted a quick evil glance.  
  
Lily stared at him in disbelief. "I don't believe you," she said, "Leave me alone, Potter." She moved closer to Ted. He put a protective arm around her and glared at James.  
  
"What are you doing with THIS guy, Evans? Come on, you can do so much better than that! You could go out with ME!" James said, as if this was the most obvious fact in the world. Ted made a move towards him but Lily held him back.  
  
"He's not worth it, "she muttered softly, but James heard her.  
  
"EVANS! Are you crazy? You're making a huge mistake here. I dont believe YOU!" he said incredulously. He stared at her with a slightly open mouth. People were beginning to look at the little standoff and whisper amongst themselves. This was sure to be the gossip of the day.  
  
"Listen, Potter," Lily spat. James winced slightly at her harsh tone. "I don't like you. I want you to leave me alone. I want you to never talk to me again. I want you out of my life completely." Her once bright green eyes were dark and cold as they stared straight into his. Before he could answer her, she turned and dragged Ted with her. James stared as her bright head disappeared into the sea of students that were now pouring out of the Great Hall. He looked around and glared at the people who were still staring at him and they quickly scurried off to their classes.  
  
Still trying to overcome his shock, he stumbled to his next class, his head full of new and perturbing thoughts. This had never happened to James Potter before. How dare someone reject him like that? Continuously. How was it possible? What kind of person was capable of this?  
  
It baffled him. 


	4. Aiding the Aurors

Chapter 4  
  
James seemed to go through the day in a daze. The only time he actually seemed alert was ironically in History of Magic, which was easily the most boring and pointless class in all of Hogwarts. Remus watched as James squinted through Professor Binns at the chalkboard behind the ghost for a few minutes and then ruffled around in his bag for a clean piece of paper. He shook his quill vigorously for a few seconds and then began scribbling on a piece of parchment. He wrote a line, then crossed it out, then wrote another, and then crossed some more out. He kept chewing on the end of his quill and ruffling his hair compulsively. After a while he began to fidget in his chair, as if he was sitting on hot coals, oblivious to the heads that turned and looked at him curiously, aroused out of their slumber or pre-slumber states. Remus stared at James bug-eyed, and then turned sideways to get Sirius's take on the situation.  
  
The skin cells on the right side of Sirius's face were becoming very friendly with the molecules of the surface of his desk. His eyes were softly shut, eyelids gleaming, and his arms hung limply down his sides, fingers curled slightly. His mouth was slightly parted and a tiny pool of bubbly spit was forming near his mouth on the desk.  
  
Remus gagged and then rolled his eyes. He turned back around and watched James aptly for the rest of the period instead of paying to Professor Binns. Not that he ever paid attention, but at least he wasn't taking a snooze.  
  
As soon as class ended, James stuffed the parchment in his bag and hurried out the door. "See you guys at lunch!" he called before his head disappeared out of sight.  
  
Remus stared at the door vacantly and then turned towards his sleeping friend. He gave Sirius an impatient little shove and was greeted with a nasally snort. Sirius opened his eyes groggily and said "Wha....?" in a deep, Neanderthal-like voice. "Uhh?" he then grunted and blinked a few times, looking around the classroom and rubbing his face. Remus rolled his eyes.  
  
"Sirius no sleep," Remus said, gathering up his books and standing up. Sirius continued to stare at him blankly.  
  
"For the love of Merlin, Sirius, wake up !" Remus cried, annoyed. He was tired and hungry and the last thing he needed was the village idiot staring at him drooling.  
  
Lily found that her day was unnaturally peaceful, and she couldn't figure out why until halfway through dinner. She had just finished her portion of shrimp cocktail Hogwarts style (they HAD to be magical shrimp, Muggle shrimp had never tasted this good), and was about to move on to desert when James burst into the Great Hall, hair fluffing up as he ran, and sprinted straight to where his friends were sitting. He sat down breathlessly, not noticing he had caught the attention of many students, and began whispering to Remus, Sirius, and Peter. They all leaned forward in a little huddle across the table; Peter kept lifting his head and glancing around the Great Hall. No one seemed to notice them; probably because this was pretty typical Maruader behavior. To Lily's surprise, an angry looking Remus began yell-whispering at James, who then smacked himself across the cheek. Lily was confused and curious; she did not like being out of the know.  
  
She turned back to her new friend Ted, who most certainly was not her boyfriend, despite the rumors. At least, not yet. She looked at him with wide eyes and whispered, "Do you see them? Whispering. They're up to something." She narrowed her eyes at them again and bit her bottom lip.  
  
"Ugh, Lily, who cares...They're always up to something. Just ignore them," he said. "Hey, did you know the Gryffindor Quidditch team has a spot open for a chaser. I think I might try out. I'm actually quite the chaser. I play on a summer league, scored about 500 goals last year," he said smugly as he waited for Lily to "ooooh" him. After a few unresponsive seconds he shook his head and blinked almost disbelievingly. "Lily?... Hey Lily... I'm sitting right here! Not there. Here ," he said and waved a hand in front of her face, looking quite annoyed. To Lily's ears, his slightly nasally voice had faded into the low murmur of voices and clinking of forks on plates in the Great Hall. She was still staring at the Marauders with a look of loathing on her face, her desert forgotten. She unclenched her teeth and took a deep breath.  
  
"They better not be up to any trouble. I am sick of putting up with their nonsense. Although... he hasn't bothered me all day... " She mused to no one in particular while staring at James. She then shook her head after a few seconds. "Head boy? Head boy? What the hell was Dumbledore thinking?" Lily spat out incredulously. "He's a stupid git!" A reddish tinge began to creep up her cheeks and her eyeballs started to bulge out of their sockets. Her nostrils flared and her mouth looked like it was fighting with itself to stay closed. A couple students behind her later swore that a very faint swirl of steam floated up from her head towards the fake dark cloudy sky above them.  
  
" STUPID! " she shrieked out suddenly; her body convulsed slightly at the force put into this one word. Her shrill voice shot through the huge room and reverberated off the cold brick walls. Stupid... stupid... stupid....  
  
It was like someone pressed pause and the whole entire scene froze, save for every single pair of eyes that turned to stare fixedly at her now mortified face. Her mouth was open and she was staring straight at...James, her face devoid of any color. She stood up wildly in a flail of arms and legs, grabbing her books and bag in a few fluid motions, and then tore out of the Great Hall in a blur.  
  
Ted stared at the empty space next to him, his chin practically touching his neck. After a couple minutes he looked at Wilona and Alice, who both looked as mortified as Lily was, and said "I...I didn't know she had issues ..." The two girls just glanced at each other frantically, but neither moved. Many, many eyes in the Great Hall were still focused on their table, although most of the teachers had already resumed eating. Ted began to look extremely embarrassed, as some of the eyes began to shift to him.  
  
"Maybe we should go after her...?" said Wilona slowly, her own food forgotten.  
  
"No. No, she has to cool down. Just leave her alone... finish your dinner," Alice said quickly, waving her hand at the food on the table. She picked up her fork and dug back in, trying to gain her composure and shrug off the incident. Ted cowered down in his seat, and Wilona looked at him disgustedly. Slowly, the huge room began to fill back up with murmurs and clinks, with only a few curious faces occasionally flicking back in their direction.  
  
Back down at the other end of the Gryffindor table, the Mauraders were engaged in quite a heated discussion, when a loud high-pitched shriek met their ears. Peter hastily threw his hands over his head as Remus winced, his head pounding with the echoes. James turned to the direction it came from and met eyes with a ghostlike, shuddering Lily. Her eyes were so cloudy, so dark, and for once he couldn't read them as they stared right at each other. He didn't even realize she had disappeared until Sirius tugged his arm and pulled him back to the anxious expressions of his friends.  
  
"Did anyone happen to catch what she yelled out?..." he said thoughtfully, trying to recall the echoes.  
  
"Stupid," Sirius answered with an annoyed tone, and then he tried to divert the conversation back to what it was before they were interrupted. "But it doesn't matter. What were you saying before, James? I could hardly understand-"  
  
"Wait did you just call me stupid?" James interjected, finally back to his senses.  
  
"No, you idiot, she said the word 'stupid'. But seriously, what the hell were you saying? And why the hell did you sprint in here, late and all?" Sirius said, smashing his fist into a slice of apple pie. Remus and Peter both nodded. "And you forgot about tonight!" he hissed. They all threw dark looks at James.  
  
"You're lucky no one ever pays attention to us like this anymore, else the teachers would be over here in no time because of you running in here like you'd just seen that Voldemort guy or something," said Remus, his voice back to an angry whisper.  
  
James shook his head, as if clearing it, and said "Let's go to the common room, no one'll be in there now. We can talk there." He stood up, wrapping up a couple of chicken legs in a napkin and putting them in his bag. His friends followed suit, a little surprised at the urgency in his voice. Sirius tried to put the whole plate of chicken in his bag, but ended up doing the same as James. All four Marauders walked down the length of the Gryffindor towards the entrance of the Great Hall. They neared the spot where Lily's friends were sitting, and James noticed that Alice was leaning back, staring at him intently. He looked away as he passed her, but he felt a hand reach up and slide down his arm, pulling him back. His head shot towards her, alarmed, her soft hand resting on his wrist. Her light brown eyes pleaded with him and she whispered softly so no one else could hear. "Leave her alone..."  
  
James, still surprised, only nodded his head, his eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't planning on talking to her anyway. Alice let his arm go and turned around without another word. James caught up with his friends quickly; no one had noticed he was behind them.  
  
"Alright, spill it, big boy," commanded Sirius. He crossed his arms and leaned back into the fluffy maroon armchair in the Gryffindor common room, giving James a this-better-be-good-because-I'm-missing-desert-face. Remus and Peter had settled down on a couch and wore similar looks on their faces, though Remus looked slightly more concerned than annoyed. James inwardly thanked Merlin for a friend like Remus. He took a deep breath.  
  
"Something funny's going on," he started nervously. He glanced around the common room at the shadows dancing eerily on the walls from the rippling fire before them. Grotesque shapes lurked in the far corners of the room, and he could faintly glimpse the milky, full moon through the curtains of a fogged-up window. He turned back and watched the black ashes in the fireplace swirl around and float upward before they disappeared into the chimney. He licked his lips slowly, tasting a spicy chicken flavor, and began to fidget with his hands. "I'm not sure what it is, and I might be overreacting. Actually, I really do hope I am overreacting. I didn't really think much of it before. But...this could be big."  
  
Sirius stared at him for a second before he rolled his eyes and threw his head back. "I knew this was coming. You've finally realized that you're in love with her. I knew it. What, so are you gonna profess your love in the Great Hall? Do you want us to plan some elaborate scheme for you?" He grinned mischievously at the thought. "Ahh, I can see it now..." James smacked him across the head. "Ooh, feisty, are we? She'd like that..." Peter snickered.  
  
"SHUT UP!"  
  
"Hmm...then that would explain the letter you were writing in History of Magic today..." Remus began thoughtfully, looking questioningly at James.  
  
"NO! You guys, I'm not in love with her! That's NOT what I'm talking about," he said, running his hand through his hair. He leaned back against the sofa and sighed. He began to massage his head with the palms of his hands, once more staring at the fire. The common room was silent, but Sirius still had a happy little grin on his face.  
  
After a few seconds, James started up again. "It's a lot more serious than that. I'm not sure how much. He didn't really tell me. I didn't really listen to him much at first-"  
  
"Wait, who?" interrupted Sirius, looking confused.  
  
"My dad. Anyways, I wrote him back telling him we weren't interested-"  
  
"We?"  
  
"Us."  
  
"Us Marauders?"  
  
"YES!"  
  
"The hell you talkin' about?"  
  
"Well if you shut up and let me finish maybe I could tell you. Seriously, Sirius," James said, looking immensely annoyed. He glanced around the room again, checking to make sure they were alone. Empty chairs revealed imprints that were now filled with only the shadows of students, and tables that were unnaturally tidy. A light wind coming from a cracked open window in the corner whispered softly as it glided through the extra space in the oddly empty room. It brushed past his ears and drifted on, beckoning to him. He shivered and followed it back to the open window, its fingers ruffling his hair softly. He slammed the window shut and exhaled. James walked back towards his friends and the warm fire, feeling relieved, but he suddenly felt an icy coldness creeping up his legs, swirling around his body, and caressing his cheeks. It kissed him on the nose and disappeared.  
  
Remus craned his neck and looked at the giant, mahogany grandfather clock in the corner of the room. "Better hurry up, people will be coming back soon."  
  
"Right..." James exhaled. "So...Moony, that letter I wrote in history of magic was to my dad, not to...her," he shot a dirty look at Sirius, who had remembered the chicken in his bag and had started eating it hungrily. "He wrote me on the first day of school, I never told you guys because I didn't think it was important. But today, right before dinner...you know who I saw talking to each other? Snivellus and Malfoy. Snivellus and Malfoy. " he paused. Sirius's mouth had dropped open, and Remus had raised his eyebrows. Peter looked lost.  
  
"Snape and Malfoy?" Peter repeated. "But they hate each other... I'm confused."  
  
"That's the point, Peter," James said patiently, ruffling through his book bag. He pulled out a notebook and shook out its contents. He picked up a gray piece of paper and handed it to Remus. "Here, read. This explains everything." He bent down and cleaned up the papers and stuffed his notebook back into his book bag before sitting back to watch Sirius and Peter crowd around Remus.  
  
Dear James,  
  
I trust that your last year of school will be excellent, as usual. I wish you good luck on your first day of school and the beginning of your life as Head Boy of Hogwarts. Go easy on the girls.  
  
But on a much more serious note, James, do you remember what we discussed at the end of summer? I wasn't sure if it was necessary then, but now I know. I am going to tell you all of this because I trust you. I trust you with my life, as well as Sirius and Remus.  
  
Yesterday, Alan Locklear intercepted an encrypted letter that we believe is from a prominent family in the wizarding community, the Malfoys. The code is difficult to break; its seems there are several different codes within the one letter. I and the other Aurors have been working on it since it entered the department. We think we may have snatches of it broken, specifically the words: "mudbloods", "spies", "son", and "recruit". The Dark side is gaining strength, as I have told you. This new "Voldemort" seems to be seeking support, and receiving it. Through this letter and other sources, we think he might be attempting to recruit within Hogwarts. We are unsure of many things now, but as the muggle saying goes: "Better safe than sorry."  
  
This is where you come in, James. You and your Marauders. Remember, I trust you and your friends deeply, as this is a matter of utmost secrecy. If we had other resorts, we would turn to them. Somewhat reluctantly, we are asking you to spy for us. It may seem silly, but we cannot afford to place anyone within Hogwarts without arousing suspicion. All you need to do is report anything suspicious to me. We can arrange a safe communication method later on. It is up to you whether you want to accept or not. To an extent, we are counting on you. I know I need not even bother to stress the dangers you will be put in if anyone finds out what you are doing because I know you know.  
  
Well. That is all I have to say for now. Thank you, son. Love you always.  
  
Your mother says hello and that she can't wait to see you during Christmas.  
  
With much love,  
  
Father  
  
p.s. Burn this letter. That was a command. You will obey. 


End file.
